Chamwe Kaira
Canadian-listed gold exploration company Ongwe Minerals has announced the discovery of a new five-kilometre-long gold-in-soil anomaly (zone) at its Nguni prospect, located approximately 17 kilometres from the company’s existing Manga gold discovery at the Omatjete Gold Project.
The company described the Nguni prospect as a significant surface gold discovery situated along the Okondeka Fault Zone, a regional structural trend that also hosts Wia Gold’s Kokoseb gold deposit, located about 55 kilometres away.
Ongwe Minerals chief executive officer Dave Underwood said the Nguni prospect represents the largest gold-in-soil anomaly he has encountered in Namibia since beginning exploration activities in the country in 2008.
Underwood said the results are encouraging and comparable to those reported during the early stages of the Kokoseb discovery.
The company said the mineralisation occurs in what it describes as a favourable geological setting, where a regional-scale fault bends around brittle granitic intrusions, creating pathways for hydrothermal fluids associated with gold deposition.
Ongwe is currently undertaking infill geological mapping and soil sampling to better define the extent of the mineralised footprint ahead of a planned drilling programme scheduled to commence in the second half of 2026.
The company noted that the Nguni prospect remains open to the north, east, and west.
The discovery forms part of Ongwe Minerals’ broader exploration strategy across its three flagship projects in Namibia’s emerging Northwest Damara Gold Belt.
These include the 151,800-hectare Omatjete Gold Project, which hosts both the Manga and Nguni prospects; the 154,000-hectare Khorixas Gold Project, home to the Belmont prospect, an orogenic gold system with a surface footprint of approximately 12 kilometres by six kilometres; and the 46,000-hectare Outjo Gold Project, located along strike from Osino Resources’ Eureka gold discovery.
At Nguni, the company is continuing high-resolution soil sampling on a 50-metre by 50-metre grid, supported by detailed geological mapping.
Exploration progress has been partially affected by alluvial scree cover across parts of the prospect area.
Ongwe Minerals is focused on gold exploration in Namibia and is led by a team with previous involvement in several major discoveries and mine developments in the country, including the Twin Hills, Eureka, and Otjikoto gold deposits.
The company said it will continue advancing both the Nguni and Manga prospects while expanding grassroots exploration activities across what it believes is a rapidly emerging gold district in northwestern Namibia.
